Outdoor Learning

Academic Year 2016/17

Autumn 2 Week 5

What a beautiful autumn afternoon we had this week for our Outdoor Learning! To continue our learning about animals and their habitats, we remembered the different places animals might live and the types of animals that would live there. We used natural resources such as leaves, twigs and stones to help create our own representations of hedgehogs, squirrels and even a caterpillar! Blackbirds worked really well together in small groups to produce their masterpieces!

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Due to changes in the timetable with the approach of Christmas activities, BLACKBIRDS have finished their Outdoor Learning sessions for this term.

Mrs Byatt

Autumn 2 Week 4

This week we had lots of fun splashing and squelching in the muddy puddles! We began by reading The Gruffalo and talked about the animals and their habitats; a logpile house, a treetop house and an underground house. On our walk around the orchard we looked out for these and found a great underground house for a fox, a logpile house (hopefully for minibeasts rather than snakes!) and a treetop house for a bird. We worked together to use natural resources such as leaves, twigs and mud to make our own nests and other habitats. We talked about how birds build their nests in a tree to keep them safe away from other animals or humans. We also thought about which other animals would live in these habitats; such as squirrels and hedgehogs.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

BLACKBIRDS will continue their Outdoor Learning sessions on Tuesday.

Mrs Byatt

Autumn 2 Week 2

This week we began our Science lessons through Outdoor Learning. Our focus over the next few weeks will be Living Things and Their Habitats. We walked along to the allotments and looked at the plants and flowers that had been growing.

We noticed some runner beans and talked about how some of them have changed colour and are dying, in readiness for winter. Carefully we collected objects along our walk which we were able to sort into 2 groups… those that are man-made and those that are natural. I wonder what objects you can find at home? How could you sort them?

Wellie Sheds: Classes have begun to use their wellie sheds. Blackbirds and Robins now have a placemat for their wellies and shoes. If you need to take your wellies home with you, please do so. If you have a second / spare pair that you can leave in the wellie shed, children will be able to access them during the school day for playtimes and lunchtimes on the field.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

BLACKBIRDS will continue their Outdoor Learning sessions on Tuesday.

Mrs Byatt

Autumn 2 Week 1

What a beautiful (year 2 take note of the suffix used!) autumn afternoon walk we had with Blackbirds this week. The trees looked so colourful (year 2 suffix!) with all different shades of yellow, brown, green and red. As our first Outdoor Learning lesson we went on a ‘Tree Team’ hunt to look for Beech, Chestnut, Oak and Sycamore. We used an identification sheet to help recognise the different sized and shaped leaves. We took photographs to show how each of the trees have changed through the autumn. Later in the year we will take another look to monitor how each of the trees change through the seasons.

Luckily (year 2 suffix) we were able to start using our new wellie shed 🙂

A point to note though, please make sure school shoes are named for when we change back. We will look into a system whereby children in all classes have a labelled clothes peg or named spot inside the wellie shed to place their shoes / wellies.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

BLACKBIRDS will continue their Outdoor Learning sessions on Tuesday.

Mrs Byatt

Autumn 1 Week 6

We had a beautiful sunny autumn walk through the orchard on Tuesday. We continued with our learning about Properties of Materials and looked at how quickly sugar dissolves in different temperature water. In groups, we tested 3 different temperatures and timed how quickly, or slowly, the sugar dissolved. We were surprised how rapidly the sugar dissolved in cold water. It was important to keep a fair test, measuring the same amount of water and sugar and to stir all cups. We also finished our ‘If’ ice breaker questions… my favourite question and answer being “If you could be a famous person, who would you be?” Simon Cowell! and “If you could buy a car right now, what would you buy?” Lamborghini!

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

EAGLES will have 1 more Outdoor Learning sessions this term. We will have an art and design focus as part of our whole school Creative Week.

Mrs Byatt

Autumn 1 Week 5

This week Eagles class carried out a comparison test to find out what happened to hot water and ice cold water when it was insulated. We used thermometers to record the temperature and a variety of materials including furry fabric, corrugated card and tinfoil, to wrap around the cups and try to keep the water warm or cold. Looking at our results we also discovered that the results for the ice cold water were not always accurate as the thermometer couldn’t take a reading directly from the ice, but the space in the cup around it.

We also played part of our ice breaker ‘If’ where we asked questions to find out a bit more about ourselves. How would you answer these questions…?

If you were given £1000, what would you spend it on?

If you could live in any period of history, when would it be?

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

If you could watch your favourite film now, what would it be?

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:EAGLES will continue Outdoor Learning sessions for this term.

Autumn 1 Week 4

Eagles had a quick walk along to the park to continue their learning about Materials and their Properties. Our focus this week was to test the best material to use to keep a cup of water warm. We looked at a range of materials to see which we thought would insulate the water best. Using the Kelly Kettle we boiled the water and wrapped the cup in different materials. Some of us used corrugated card, furry fabric, tin foil or shiny fabric. Every 2 minutes we recorded the change in temperature and collated our results back at school to compare the final temperatures.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

EAGLES will continue Outdoor Learning sessions for this term.

Autumn 1 Week 3

This week we walked to the park to continue our learning from Science. During the morning we had carried out an investigation using hot water, a variety of drinking containers and thermometers. For Outdoor Learning we used the Kelly Kettle to boil the water and make the tea which most of us enjoyed! We took some time to remind ourselves of the rules around the Kelly Kettle… walk around the outside of the fire circle and sit on your knees ready to stand if needed.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

EAGLES will continue Outdoor Learning sessions for this term.

Autumn 1 Week 2

What a glorious way to start our Outdoor Learning sessions … the sun shone upon us all! We began this term by searching for a tree to represent each of our Tree Teams: ‘Beech, Chestnut, Oak and Sycamore’. Using a Tree Identification Kit, we looked for each of the trees by checking the leaves, bark and any buds. Throughout the year we will regularly check on each of the trees to see how they have changed over each season. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a sycamore on our walk around the orchard. So… if anyone knows where there is one in the village or you have one in your garden that you could photograph, please let us know!

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

EAGLES will continue Outdoor Learning sessions for this term.

After discussions as a staff, we have agreed that the best way to move forward is to block lessons together to allow for continuity in learning and to make things less complicated in terms of remembering a change of clothes! Next term, we will swap classes so that throughout the year each class has 3 terms of blocked sessions.

Academic Year 2015/16

Summer 2 Week 4

Wow!! We have had so much fun this week as part of our STEM week (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths). I hope you have enjoyed seeing all the photos that have been shared by class teachers on Dojo. The children have a display of some of these photographs in school so they are able to talk about and share their excitement with each of their friends. I took 95 photos just on Monday and Tuesday!

Robins have been Tuesday we have a wonderful picnic and outdoor learning experience in the park. The children especially loved hiding and playing under the canopy of a tree and of course enjoyed the playground. Some children were also brave enough to toast marshmallows over an open fire!

Blackbirds had a crazy scientist in their classroom at the beginning of the week! They’ve based their work on The Billy Goats Gruff and been busy designing troll faces and making troll snot!

Peacocks made bubbles inside bubbles and balloon rockets. They also made some gloop!

Eagles used the rhyme of Humpty Dumpty to make parachutes to help Humpty as he falls.

Our Picnic in the Park with Eagles and Robins was a wonderful success. We walked along to the park where we had our picnic first. The children were given time to explore the area and make up their own games or play football. After that they had a play in the park, climbed some of the trees (and found their way down again!) and toasted marshmallows! Yum yum 😉 We shared some photographs on Class Dojo for you to see how adventurous we were with the tree climbing!

Coming soon…

Picnic in the Park (round 2!) Blackbirds and Peacocks will have their picnic next week on Tuesday 5th July, with activities and games planned for you. Please remember to wear old trousers or leggings and school uniform on the top half. If the weather is warm, children can bring a long sleeved top to change into, along with sturdy trainers and apply sun cream in the morning. All PEACOCKS to bring a PACKED LUNCH please. BLACKBIRDS are entitled to their Universal Free School Meals and will have already signed up for a school packed lunch, or agreed to provide your own. Thank you.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Blackbirds and Peacocks – Tuesday 5th July

THIS IS THE FINAL SESSION FOR THE YEAR

Mrs Byatt

Summer 2 Week 3

Well weren’t we lucky with the weather on Monday?! The sun came out just in time for Peacocks to enjoy their walk. Harriet and Anna-May taught us the ice breaker ‘Sparrow Hawk’ where we had to catch ‘food’ (a bean bag) as it flew from tree to tree. This helped us practise our throwing and catching skills as well as teamwork and quick reflexes! We continued our Science learning about plants by collecting different types that we saw on our walk, and boy did we get a lot! What a beautiful bunch of flowers Anna-May carried for us. We were able to sort them into 2 groups, in the same way that we sorted animals into their different groups. Can Peacocks remember the names of the groups? D _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ and E _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _!

Next week…

STEM week: Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths. In an exciting off-curriculum week, activities and investigations have been planned by the staff for next week as part of STEM week. We hope that the children will enjoy learning in lessons that will give them a chance to be scientists and discover something new.

As part of this week, Eagles and Robins will have an extended Outdoor Learning session on Tuesday 28th June. Thank you to Robins Class for returning your meal options so speedily! You are all booked in! Remember that some of you said that you are bringing your packed lunch. So do not forget that on Tuesday! Eagles, you will all require a packed lunch. You will all need to come in forest uniform on TUESDAY!

We will enjoy a walk to the park, where we will have a picnic, play Outdoor Learning games, have a snack and play in the park. We will return to school at the normal time.

All being well, with the busy school schedule that we inevitably have at the end of year, Blackbirds and Peacocks will have a similar session the following week! Blackbirds will need to look out for the letter and order packed lunches if required.

Outdoor Learning sessions:

Robins and Eagles – Tuesday 28th June

Eagles – Monday 4th July

Peacocks – Tuesday 5th July

Mrs Byatt

Summer 2 Week 2

Oh dear! What a wet afternoon Eagles had on Tuesday as we walked through the orchard. It did give us the chance to admire the beautiful colours of some garden flowers as we sheltered under a tree. We also saw a nest of peacock caterpillars that were in different stages of growth and development. See the link below to find out more. Thank you Abigail for showing us where they are! Our ice breaker this week was called ‘Sparrow Hawk’ and involved a bird of prey trying to catch its food (a bean bag!) as it passed from tree to tree. It kept us moving and we had some fast ‘sparrow hawks’! Our lesson focus looked at the art work of Andy Goldsworthy, a sculptor and photographer who uses natural resources to make patterns and shapes on the landscape.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the questionnaires which will inform our next steps and action points for next year. Please see the results attached to this newsletter.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Peacocks – Monday 20th June.

Mrs Byatt

Summer 2 Week 1

As you will have realised, the school have been extremely busy this week creating the beautiful art pieces that have decorated our school and church today. As a result, Outdoor Learning lessons will resume next week. Please see the dates for the term at the bottom of this letter. The summer term brings its usual end of year activities which have meant that some classes will not have Outdoor Learning sessions with myself, however, class teachers will continue to use the outdoor environment to support and develop your child’s learning across the curriculum.

Coming soon…

Science and Outdoor Learning results: Thank you to those parent who have taken the time to complete and return the Science questionnaires that were sent home at the end of last term. I am in the process of compiling the results and will report these back to the school community so that we are able to plan a way ahead for next year.

This term’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Peacocks – Monday 20th June

Tuesday 5th July

Eagles – Tuesday 14th June

Tuesday 28th June

Monday 4th July

Mrs Byatt

Summer 1 Week 6

On Tuesday, Blackbirds spent the afternoon combining their Science and Literacy work by reading minibeast poems and creating their own animal homes. Our lesson began by talking about what features we see around us… fences, hedges, trees… and what resources we could use to make our habitats… stones, sticks, grass. They worked in small groups to build an animal habitat, including dogs, dinosaurs, minibeasts and even a u nicorn! I hope parents have enjoyed seeing their designs on Class Dojo!

Coming Soon…

Questionnaire: Please take the time to complete and return to school the parent questionnaires that came home earlier this week. We really do value your comments and use them to move our school forward. Thank you.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Eagles – Monday 23rd May

Robins – Tuesday 24th May

Mrs Byatt

Summer 1 Week 5

On Monday, Peacocks enjoyed a glorious afternoon walk along The Street and into the orchard. Continuing our Science learning about the parts of a plant, we carried out a study into the different leaves on trees and bushes. We used a sheet to help us identify the names of each and to look at the shape of them. We noticed the features of the leaves and that some are broad and round, while others are long, or even pointy. In our ice breaker, we played a word link game in which we had to connect the previous word to a new word. We moved from the starting word ‘Red’ through items of clothes, crisps, ball games and even royal family!

Eagles were not so lucky with the weather, although the rain did hold off long enough for us not to get wet! In this session, Eagles also played ‘Word Link’ with the same starter word, however this time we finished with ‘teddybear’, and included colours, the beach and animal evolution! How differently our minds work! Why not try playing the game when in the car or round the dinner table? Eagles were also given the opportunity to create a natural picture of sculpture using resources we could find around us. We had some wonderful examples of chicks, nests, wigwams and rugby balls. How lovely to see them working freely in their own style.

Code of Conduct…

Wear sensible clothing for the weather, ie; wellies and waterproofs or sunhats and sun cream.

Stay within sight of adults, respond; “1, 2, 3, can you see me?” “4, 3, 2, I can see you”.

Listen to instructions and directions.

Walk along narrow paths or roads and through the churchyard.

Respect the village, villagers, animals, plants and surrounding land.

Please take a moment to remind your child of these codes so that they are fully engaged in our lessons.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Blackbirds – Tuesday 17th May

Mrs Byatt

Summer 1 Week 4

This week Robins enjoyed a beautiful afternoon walking around the village of Hartlip. Our focus was to think about what makes the village, and the environment where we live, attractive to look at and who helps to maintain it. We walked through the allotments and played ‘Spot the Difference’ between 2 different allotments… one was tidy with cut grass and no weeds, the other was a little overgrown! Robins were able to think of lots of different actions that we might do if we were working on the allotments… dig the soil; sow the seeds; pull the weeds; fix the fence. Can they show you the actions they did for each?

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Peacocks – Monday 9th May

Eagles – Tuesday 10th May

Mrs Byatt

Summer 1 Week 3

What a crazy afternoon Blackbirds had on their Outdoor Learning session this week. We experienced rain, sleet, snow, wind and even some thunder! Well done Blackbirds for braving the weather! Despite it all, we were still able to enjoy our lesson following the topic of minibeasts and their habitats. We talked about the types of places we might find minibeasts … under logs, in the blossom, behind a stone, on a branch. Unfortunately, we didn’t see many but we discussed what might have affected the number of minibeasts we saw. Our ‘Seagulls and Crows’ ice breaker involved a story of 2 teams whose aim was to catch members of the opposing team.

Here’s a link to the ‘Spotter Sheets’ we used in our lesson this week:

Peacocks were given the opportunity to work with the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership at Queen Down Warren. We learnt a lot from Mark and Mary about the different parts of a plant by taking apart each of the layers and studying them closely using magnifying glasses. We tried really hard to remember the names of some new flowers we looked at too. Can any Peacocks recall the flower or butterfly they had as part of the game? Mark and Mary also talked to us about the importance of Queen Down Warren being the best example of chalk downs land in Kent. How lucky we are to have it right on our doorstep!

We look forward to continuing this relationship with the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership in future projects.

Eagles had a glorious afternoon tracking down water features around Hartlip on Tuesday. We used a map to locate where they were along the road and discussed whether they were natural or man-made. We also looked at our own sensory garden pond and talked about the importance of staying safe near water. Our ice breaker was called ‘Huckleberry’ and involved the class eagle hiding in the allotments so that we could find him and call out “Huckleberry”.

Coming soon…

Gardening equipment: if you have any hand tools that you no longer need or use we would certainly find a home for them at school. We would also willingly receive any spare packets of seeds that we can put to good use. As Mrs Jerome has already mentioned, we are keen to address the school grounds and it would be wonderful if we were able to start up a gardening club. Any items that you are able to donate towards this would be gratefully accepted. Thank you.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Blackbirds – Tuesday 26th April

Mrs Byatt

Summer 1 Week 1

Our first week back and what a beautiful way to start the term!

Robins enjoyed the sunshine on our spring walk as we looked for flowers around the village. We found so many beautiful colours and different types of plants. Parents will have seen the photographs on class Dojo but we can all enjoy them as we walk though Hartlip! We played a game to try and remember all the different plants we saw. Robins did very well adding their own flower to the end of the sentence. This is what we remembered;

Old Chalk New Downs Project: we are excited to be taking part in this initiative with the Medway Valley Countryside Partnership. Their team are able to offer a series of free workshops to our school, using the downs themselves as a seasonally themed outdoor classroom.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Peacocks – Monday 18th April Eagles – Tuesday 19th April

NB: Please refer to our clothing policy for Outdoor Learning from last year. As the weather gets warmer we will no longer need to wear our coats, though we do still need long sleeves and long trousers to protect us against brambles, stings and insect bites. At the moment we will continue to wear our wellies as the ground is still a little soft and muddy. Thank you.

Mrs Byatt

Spring 2 Week 4

Blackbirds had their Outdoor Learning lesson on Monday this week. Using a ‘First Signs of Spring’ spotter sheet, we were able to tick off a range of common garden plants that we saw on our walk around the village. This sheet is available on the KLZ webpage for Outdoor Learning or through www.woodlandtrust.co.uk / nature detectives / first signs of spring if you want to try your own over the weekend? Blackbirds consolidated their learning in a Science lesson with Mrs Harris, using photographs we took of each flower.

On Tuesday, Peacocks went to the local park in Munn’s Lane. Our ice breaker was called ‘Steal the Bacon’ though we used a Peacock! The children had to race against each other to win the Peacock for their team. Parents will have seen the photos shared on Class Dojo of the ‘Twig Mobiles’ we made as a class. We began by lashing 2 sticks together using a pipe cleaner, then tying natural objects onto the ends of each stick. We found pine cones, feathers, leaves, acorns among other things. Peacocks brought their mobiles home so they can add more features to them.

Coming soon…

Picnic in the Park: dates to be confirmed after Easter for a class trip to the local park for games and activities.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Eagles – Monday 21st March

Peacocks – Tuesday 22nd March

Mrs Byatt

Spring 2 Week 2

What a beautiful afternoon walk Blackbirds had on Monday!

We walked along to the play area where we played our ice breaker, ‘Animals’, which linked in with their learning about animals and their PE warm up games. I shared a photograph on Dojo of one of the groups acting out their animal’s

movement. Did anyone guess what they were pretending to be? We also played a bird’s nest game where the ‘Blackbirds’ had to collect sticks and twigs only using their ‘beak’ (clothes peg). Some of their creations looked very comfortable!

Eagles didn’t have such a stunning afternoon session but we still made the most of it. Our walk took us into the orchard where we played our ice breaker game ‘Coin Toss’. I think this may become another favourite to share with you all on another occasion! As part of Eagles’ Art / DT we began a project making a medal by cutting a disc of wood and drilling a hole through it. This has become an ongoing task which we will finish in the coming weeks. Watch this space…

Coming soon…

Teddy Bears Picnic: Following discussions with Blackbirds on our walk to the play area, they are keen to have a play in the park. I will discuss with other classes and look into organising a day when each class can leave school before lunch and have a picnic and play during the summer term. Look out for these dates.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Robins – Tuesday 8th March

Please note: Peacocks there is a change to the timetable and due to a visiting sports athlete we will not be going Outdoor Learning on Monday 7th March. This has been rescheduled for Tuesday 15th March. They will still receive 2 sessions this term in line with the other classes.

Please note that on outdoor learning days, children should come dressed to school in school uniform tops (red logo sweatshirt/white polo shirt) and forest bottoms: leggings, joggers, trousers NO JEANS! Remember wellies!

Kind regards,

Kate Byatt

Spring 2 Week 1

What a busy week Robins had with 2 Outdoor Learning sessions! We had better weather on Tuesday with some sunshine to warm us up on our walk. We took a different route across the road and down the footpath into the field behind. Robins walked very sensibly along to the park where we played our ice breakers; ‘Bob the Weasel’ and ‘Duck, duck, goose’. Robins enjoyed both of these and remembered the rules for both from our wellie walk the day before. Parents will have seen the class story photos on Dojo of our animal pairs matching game in which they had to, first, find the picture cards, and secondly match them with the picture of the baby animal. Can they remember the names of each of the animals, including the babies?

Thank you…

Wellie Walk on Monday 22nd February. Thank you so much to all those parents who came on our wellie walk this week. We had a great turn out, it was lovely to see so many of you supporting us. We hope that you enjoyed the ice breakers and the opportunity to walk around the orchard with your child/ren. Each class certainly enjoyed sharing their ice breakers with the school; there were some popular choices! The morning rain meant we had a good amount of puddles to splash through too. I wonder who had the muddiest wellies?!

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Blackbirds – Monday 29th January

Eagles – Tuesday 1st February

Please note that on outdoor learning days, children should come dressed to school in school uniform tops (red logo sweatshirt/white polo shirt and forest bottoms: leggings, joggers, trousers NO JEANS! Remember wellies!

Kind regards,

Kate Byatt

Spring 1 Week 6

What a busy afternoon Robins and Peacocks had on their joint Outdoor Learning session on Tuesday! As we joined forces, our ice breaker involved ‘Name Roulette’, in which we stood in 2 circles, one inside the other. The inner circle faced outwards and the outer circle faced inwards! We span the ‘roulette’ circle and when it stopped we had to say the name of the person we were facing. It was tricky remembering the names for both classes. Parents from both classes will have seen the stick games we played together which developed our co-operation and teamwork skills. We had a ‘Horse Race’ using sticks as a hobby horse and a ‘Stick Knee Relay’ in which we had to walk from one line to another holding the stick between our legs! It was a great joy to watch the different styles children came up with! Ask your children which game they liked the best?

Coming soon…

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch Thank you to those of you who took part in this event over the last weekend in January. I have seen some of your forms in school. I hope you had more success than myself, though my children did enjoy being out in the garden, even hiding in the bushes so they could ‘birdwatch’ from a distance!

Wellie Walk on Monday 22nd February from 1.30 until the end of the school day. Children have voted for their favourite ice breaker which they hope to show you during the afternoon. Please send your child to school wearing their school t-shirt and jumper, and comfy trousers or leggings. Don’t forget wellies! Any parent, carer or grandparent who wishes to Dojo me to let me know you are coming, please feel free to do so.

Next term’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Whole school – Monday 22nd February.

Robins – Tuesday 23rd February

Mrs Byatt

Spring 1 Week 5

This week, Eagles enjoyed a glorious afternoon walk for their Outdoor Learning. Our focus this week was linked to Art and improving our techniques with a range of materials. Eagles worked well in the sunshine making their Tree Ogres and Big Tree Art which parents will have seen on Class Dojo. We were able to find a selection of natural materials such as twigs, bark, snail shells, beech nut cases and brown leaves to design our ogres, though I think they were more friendly than scary!

Please find attached the results of the parent questionnaire which came home a few weeks ago. We thank those of you who took the time to complete it and as a school have taken steps to respond to the comments made. In response to these, we have added the actions that we will take or have begun to take already.

Coming soon…

Wellie Walk on Monday 22nd February (first Monday after half term). Mrs Jerome shared a Dojo with you this week inviting you all to join us. I’m pleased to know that some of you have already got your wellies ready! The session will start at 1.30 and finish at the end of the school day. The children discussed today in their School Council meeting their favourite ice breakers that they would like to show you.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Robins & Peacocks – Tuesday 9th February

Peacocks please note the change of day!!

Kind regards,

Kate Byatt

Spring 1 Week 4

This week, Peacocks had their Outdoor Learning session on Monday. Our ice breaker was an active one involving ‘doing the Macarena’, hopping, jumping roaring like a tiger and telling

Mrs Harris off! In our first lesson of the term we linked our learning with 3D shapes in maths and used sticks to build models. This week we continued the theme and built ‘Twig Towers’ using the skills and ideas from the previous lesson. We experimented which structure was the most secure and allowed us to build the tallest tower. There were two designs that worked well… balancing sticks together in a pyramid and laying sticks on top of each other in opposite directions (as in Jenga bricks). Well done Peacocks for some great Twig Towers.

Blackbirds enjoyed a rather wet and windy afternoon on Tuesday! We shortened our walk through the orchard as the winds became quite strong. It didn’t stop us from trying a ‘seat swap’ ice breaker in which we changed positions with other children depending on whether they were wearing a hat, or were older than 20, or had a red vest on, etc. Parents from Blackbird class will have already seen the bird feeders we made from the photos on Class Dojo. We have kept a few to hang in school and the rest went home with Blackbird class. I hope you’ll keep an eye out which birds are tucking into their food.

On that note, please see the information below about the RSPB Garden Bird Watch this weekend.

Coming soon…

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch on Saturday 30th or Sunday 31st January. This weekend the RSPB are asking the nation to count and record the number of birds you see in your garden. Coming home today is a letter explaining what you need to do, a tick sheet to identify the birds you see and a record sheet that can be returned to the RSPB. If you feel that you are able to take part you could message me on Dojo or even send me a photograph too! We are awaiting a schools pack so that we can do this as a whole school too.

Wellie Walk on Monday 22nd February (first Monday after half term). A chance for pupils, staff and parents to stick on our wellies and get stuck in the mud for a walk around the orchard.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Eagles – Tuesday 2nd February

Kind regards,

Kate Byatt

Spring 1 Week 3

On Tuesday, we had a beautiful afternoon walk with Robins class. We wore our waterproof clothes and wellies and took a walk along to the pre-school, past the allotments and through the orchard back to school. We looked at photographs of the different things we saw on our walk; the church, memorial, village hall, allotments; and were able to place them on our map so we could see the route we took. We talked about the different things we see on the way home. Perhaps Robins can draw a picture of some of these things?

At the beginning of the week I met with Mrs Sheikh to talk about how we can develop the sensory garden and continue getting the best from it. We were very excited about the ideas we both shared and bringing wildlife and new plants to the area. We have made a start at clearing away some of the weeds and trimming down a few of the plants and we hope that you are beginning to see the effects of our work as you walk up the drive. It is an on-going task and we welcome any other volunteers who have an hour or two to spare and that can help us with this task. With a little bit of work, we aim to get the garden ready for full use by all the children in readiness for the spring and summer months. Thank you to Mrs Sheikh for starting the work and to the PTFA for buying some bird feeders and food.

Coming soon…

RSPB Big Garden Bird Watch on Saturday 30th or Sunday 31st January. Look out for information coming home next week.

Wellie Walk on Monday 22nd February (first Monday after half term). A chance for pupils, staff and parents to stick on our wellies and get stuck in the mud for a walk around the orchard. Flier attached

Next week’s Outdoor Learning sessions:

Peacocks – Monday 25th January

Blackbirds – Tuesday 26th January

Kind regards,

Kate Byatt

Spring 1 Week 2 15 January 2016

On Monday, Peacock class enjoyed their Outdoor Learning session. We played an ice breaker game called ‘Sausages’. Maurice was very good at this game, but some didn’t do so well, however we all still enjoyed the game and it made us laugh. We spent some time collecting sticks to make into our Twig Towers. This linked with Peacocks maths this week as they have learnt about shapes. We talked about the different bases they needed to start their tower and how they could build the ‘walls’ by balancing different lengths of sticks. Some of us were very clever and used the mud to ‘glue’ the walls together. Photos have been uploaded to Class Dojo if you haven’t seen them yet.

Eagles went on Outdoor Learning on Tuesday. Again, they played ‘Sausages’ and Izzy, Ty and Ben tried really hard not to laugh at the questions they were asked. We carried on learning about the topic of Evolution by playing a game of Camouflage Caterpillars. We looked for lots of different coloured caterpillars (wool) and collected them in a pot. At the end we could see which coloured wool was easier to spot and which colours took longer to find because they were camouflaged.

Next week’s Outdoor Learning session:

Robins – Tuesday 19th January

Kind regards,

Kate Byatt

26 June 2015

A note from Mrs Jerome…

We look forward to welcoming Mrs Byatt back to school on Monday to undertake responsibility for this role in school. We are excited to be able to offer this learning to all children throughout the school. It offers the children real hands on learning as well as teaching them the skills of risk taking.

Please refer to information about Forest School and Outside learning in the newsletter. We need your help to create the mini beast hotel! In addition, you have been advised of when your child will be visiting the forest next week. In case you have missed it…

Peacocks: Monday afternoon

Blackbirds: Wednesday afternoon

Please send in with your child long sleeves, trousers and wellies for these sessions. Thank you

Mrs Byatt will be pleased to tell you more about the provision of Forest School and outside learning at a presentation to parents on Wednesday morning at 9am. Please do join us.